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The New Republican Primary Rules Make It Possible For The Republican Establishment To Steal The Nomination From A Candidate They Don’t Like

By Michael Snyder, on December 21st, 2011

New Republican primary rules are going to make it basically impossible for any candidate to wrap up the Republican nomination very early in 2012. In fact, the new Republican primary rules make a “brokered convention” much more likely and they also make it much more likely that the Republican establishment will attempt to steal the nomination away from a candidate that they do not like. How exactly they would do this will be discussed later in the article. The key is that most Republican primaries and caucuses will now allocate delegates using a proportional system rather than a “winner take all” system. Back in 2008, John McCain did very well in early “winner take all” primaries and wrapped up the Republican nomination very, very quickly. Nothing like that will happen in 2012. In fact, if the field remains crowded it is going to be very difficult for any candidate to accumulate more than 50 percent of the delegates by the time the Republican national convention rolls around. As will be discussed later on in this article, that would move the power into the hands of the Republican establishment.

First, let’s try to understand what these new changes are. Sadly, it appears that even most Republican voters do not understand how things have changed.

“Any presidential primary, caucus, convention, or other meeting held for the purpose of selecting delegates to the national convention which occurs prior to the first day of April in the year in which the national convention is held, shall provide for the allocation of delegates on a proportional basis.”

This new rule means that delegates will be apportioned to candidates on a proportional basis in Republican caucuses and primaries that are conducted prior to April 1st. One notable exception to this rule is Florida, which got approval to remain a “winner take all” state. So Florida will be very important.

In addition, all of the states that are now using “proportional representation” do not allocate delegates the exact same way. Each state has slightly different election rules.

But in general, in most of the primaries and caucuses held before April 1st, delegates will be awarded to multiple candidates instead of to just a single candidate.

Therefore, it now becomes much less important who wins each individual state. Instead, the key is how many delegates a candidate picks up in each state.

The Republicans decided to go to such a system after watching the extended battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2008. The following comes from a recent Huffington Post article….

Don’t look for a quick winner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. After watching Democrats successfully ride their historic primary battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama all the way to the White House in 2008, the Republicans quietly adopted a new rule designed to extend their nominating process this time around.

The rule limits the ability of candidates to win large numbers of delegates in early primaries and caucuses – those held before April – because delegates must be awarded in proportion to the votes a candidate receives.

If proportional representation would have been used back in 2008, the Republican race would have looked much different. John McCain would have had to battle much, much longer to secure the nomination.

Consider the 2008 Republican nomination contest. John McCain secured an essentially insurmountable lead on February 5, Super Tuesday. Sen. McCain had become the frontrunner heading into Super Tuesday by winning three key primaries: South Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire. His average percentage share in those contests was just 34.5%, and he never even broke the 40% threshold. Even on February 5, he won only 3 states with a majority of the vote.

Although McCain on Super Tuesday did not capture a majority of the popular vote (and did not, in fact, ever reach a majority of 50% of votes cast in primaries), McCain’s disproportionately large delegate count forced his leading opponents to drop out of the race.

Some even believe that an extended three way race between McCain, Romney and Huckabee could have resulted in a “brokered convention” back in 2008. The following analysis comes from a recent Daily Kos article….

In 2008, the Republican primary contest was decided quickly and relatively painlessly only because there were winner-take-all rules at the time. Those rules have been changed. If you take the current proportional delegate rules and apply them to the results of the 2008 race through Feb 5th, when the race was still heavily contested, something very surprising happens. John McCain, who took a commanding lead under the winner-take-all rules in effect in most states, instead ends up behind Mitt Romney by eight delegates (with a confidence factor of plus or minus 5 delegates.) The standings, with more than half the delegates decided, would have been as follows.

Romney 439

McCain 431

Huckabee 247

Other 114

This year, there will be very few “winner take all” primaries, and most of those will be at the end of the schedule.

This is going to encourage candidates to stick around longer. The more delegates that a candidate can accumulate, the more leverage that candidate will have moving into the convention.

Right now, the Republican field is very crowded and nobody has been able to take a commanding lead in the polls. The possibility that no candidate will be able to accumulate more than 50% of the delegates by the time of the Republican convention seems to grow by the day.

If no candidate has won more than 50% of the delegates by convention time, then it is likely that we will have a brokered convention.

A brokered convention is a situation in United States politics in which there are not enough delegates ‘won’ during the presidential primary and caucus elections for a single candidate to have a pre-existing majority, during the first official vote for a political party’s presidential-candidate at its nominating convention.

Once the first ballot, or vote, has occurred, and no candidate has a majority of the delegates’ votes, the convention is then considered brokered; thereafter, the nomination is decided through a process of alternating political horse-trading, and additional re-votes. In this circumstance, all regular delegates (who, previously, were pledged to the candidate who had won their respective state’s primary or caucus election) are “released,” and are able to switch their allegiance to a different candidate before the next round of balloting. It is hoped that this ‘freedom’ will result in a re-vote resulting in a clear majority of delegates for one candidate.

Okay, so how does all of this make it possible for the Republican establishment to steal the nomination from a candidate that they do not like?

It is actually very easy.

If the Republican establishment does not like the candidate that is leading in the delegate count, they can try to shoot for a brokered convention.

They can do this by encouraging candidates to say in the race longer in order to water down the vote.

They can also do this by encouraging late entrants into the race in order to steal some delegates away.

In fact, there are persistent rumors that the Republican establishment is already lining up late entrants to enter the race. The following comes from a recent Wall Street Journal article….

Efforts are underway by some wealthy Republican donors and a group of conservative leaders to investigate whether a new Republican candidate could still get into the presidential race. The talk is still preliminary and somewhat wishful, but it reflects dissatisfaction with the two leading candidates, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

Conservative leaders are looking into whether it is feasible for a dark horse to get on the ballot in select states. The deadline to qualifying for the ballot has passed in Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, and New Hampshire. But a candidate could still get on the ballot in states like Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas. At the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, voters write in their choice, so there is no formal filing deadline.

The chatter about potential new entrants include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, businessman Donald Trump, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

If a candidate that the Republican establishment does not like gets out to an early lead, the Republican establishment will move heaven and earth in an attempt to keep that candidate from accumulating 50 percent of the delegates.

The goal would be to cause a brokered convention which would enable the Republican establishment to hand pick whatever candidate that they want.

In fact, if a brokered convention happens the Republicans could end up selecting someone that is not even running.

It certainly does not sound very American, but this is a very real possibility.

The Republican establishment is only going to go along with the will of the people as long as they pick the “correct” candidate.

That is why any anti-establishment candidate is going to be facing a huge uphill battle this year. It would be way too easy for the Republican establishment to force a brokered convention.

Any candidate that wants to avoid a brokered convention is going to have to accumulate more than 50 percent of the delegates before the convention, and that is going to be very difficult to do under the new rules.

I have to say, I think the whole thing is irrelevant. It just does not matter who ends up in the white house. The pool the next pres is drawn from is 100% a bunch of billionaire crooks who will do NOTHING for the rest of the 99% of us who are going down in flames.

Iceman

I’m forced to agree with you. The “front runners” are acceptable belt way republican choices and any real conservative candidate, one that could really make a difference for this country are discredited. I’ve lost much of my hope in this presidential race. (Take note RNC. There are many like me.) My attention is now on the congressional races. The grass roots, tea party republicans need to come out in force and get the HOR and the Senate firmly into conservative hands.

e

none are billionaires

David

Even though the article is clearly being careful not to mention the “real” target of this game, we all know it’s actually aimed squarely at Ron Paul.

What blows me away is the GOP’s refusal to recognize that if they continue to spit in Ron Paul’s face (and his supporters) they are taking a HUGE risk of facing a third-party candidacy, which would almost certainly hand the 2012 election to Obama. Do they really want to drink the Kool-aid and commit mass suicide in this fashion?

They need to shut up, get out of the way, and let the process play itself out.

Mainuh1

+1

The nomination process has always been fixed. The good ol’ boy system at its best. Our electoral process is crooked, controlled by big money. IMHO, all PACs, lobbying and political contributions over $50 per individual should be outlawed and corporate contributions made illegal.

http://lastdayrapture.blogspot.com/ TK

+2 The real target is Dr. Ron Paul. Everyone I know is voting for him.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/otep/smashthecontrolmachine.html SMASH THE CONTROL MACHINE

like

REED RICHARDS

David,

Consider that a bigger agenda may be at play here. Perhaps the GOP wing of the war party knows that another 4 years of Obomber will produce complete collapse. This way they can blame the democrat wing of the war party for the collapse and then take power for 8 years or more. But seriously speaking, 4 years of republican wing or democrat wing war party rule will make no difference.

David

Oh yes, believe me, I’ve considered it.

If you’re right, the fallacy with the GOP’s hypothetical thinking is that they just might be underestimating the people.

It takes a lot (unfortunately) to get the American people to turn off their TVs and start paying attention to the real world around us. But once it happens (and a complete collapse would almost certainly get the job done), I can see the tsunami of fury and wrath that will spread across this country being like nothing we’ve experienced since the American Revolution. In such an event, I would suggest that the GOP would be literally more in fear of their lives rather than consolidating power for the next eight years.

REED RICHARDS

David,

Agreed. Total collapse would get people’s attention finally. That is why the NDAA with indefinite detention of citizens is for. To stop such an uprising.

davidstvz

I agree that the target is definitely Ron Paul. I think John Huntsman would not be welcome either, but he’s not doing well.

I’ve made up my mind to vote for Ron Paul or else Obama (or maybe a third party throw away vote). I’m definitely not voting for any establishment Republican. Ever again. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter much since I’m in Louisiana. We can elect women Democrats to statewide offices because the state has more women than men, but when it’s a man on the ballot the state always swings red.

Dutch

David and Reed, you are on the right track but still wrong. The reality is simply that establishment Republicans and Obama are on the SAME TEAM ALREADY. They play the same games, vote for the same unconstitutional measures, and have a common enemy in Paul who would take away their free ride. TO BE SURE Republicans will be more than happy to deny Paul the nomination, have him run as an Libertarian, and see the election go to Obama. Because the fact is an Obama White House is much more amenable to what the Republicans have become than a Paul White House would be. They’ll be happy to sit on their hands for 4 more years for the luxury of voting themselves raises, stealing more of your money and insider trading. And as you yourselves note, every course of action they have taken so far supports this.

You need to completely abandon the idea that the Republican establishment and Democrat establishment have different goals.

Debt, war, activist judges, erosion of the bill of rights, deficit spending, squeezing the middle class, voting for raises, devaluing the dollar and LYING. I defy you to tell me one party owns the monopoly any of these things. Ron Paul wants to derail their gravy train and you’d be a fool to think they won’t join forces to prevent it…

David Rhineheimer

Very, very well said.

Gary2

Michael-the republican party has been stealing the wealth of the poor and middle class as well as the country as a whole and funneling it to the already rich. The evidence is the huge wealth and income inequality in this country.

The fact that they would steal a nomination should be no surprise and I do not see how republican corruption is even news anymore. Its just expected. Remember how Bush stole the election from Gore with help from the supreme court? Why is this post you did anything but same old same old.

A Dodgy Bloke

I have absolutely no faith in either party George W said he was a conservative but governed like LBJ. The present pack of lying loons is only slightly more dangerous than the last pack of lying loons. Ron Paul has no shot at the nomination let alone getting elected. The MSN will crucify him and the establishment rebubs hate him it’s going to be Mitt and Perry vs BO and who ever, deal with it.

knightowl77

Vote for Ron Paul anyway…consider it a protest vote against the establishment

Gary2

No one cares about the right wing freak show. Even Ron “let them die” paul is a freak.

I have never seen such a collection of dimwits and buffoons. It would be funny were it not for the low information voters who vote for these goofs.

Do you really think Ronmey/gingrich can even come close to Obama? He will wipe the floor with any and all of these fools.

DeathSpiral

Gary, reading your biased rants on this webpage gets old. You are a Demopublican Sheeple being led to the slaughter.

Perhaps you should speed up the journey and go ahead and move to Greece because that’s where we are headed under the current Demopublican and Republicrat policies.

Ron Paul 2012

Kevin

Gary2

You see some difference between the Republicans and Democrats? We been over this ground numerous times. Free Trade the great job destroyer, corporate welfare, personal liberty….where do you see a difference in the two?

This left / right banter is foolish. Anyone that posts here is reading evidence that shows the my guy verses your guy is nonsense because the all do the bidding of the same guy.

knightowl77

Gary says, “I have never seen such a collection of dimwits and buffoons.”

Look in the mirror….

REED RICHARDS

Gary2,

Compared to what? Obomber? Ron Paul is far from perfect, but compared to Obomber, Ron Paul would qualify for Sainthood…………..

Sharon Gay

The thing about Ron Paul is this……….He’s been preaching the same sermon for the last 30 years but back then, nobody listened. Now there are more listening and he’s saying, “I told you so.” He’s the ONLY one who has voted consistently for the last 20 years he’s been in congress to uphold the constitution. The man is honest and you may not agree with what he says, you can’t deny that HE doesn’t flip flop.

davidstvz

Die-hard Democrat and Republican voters are like two people in a canoe headed for a waterfall arguing about which side of the river they ought to be on.

REED RICHARDS

davidstvz,

Now that was brilliant.

george

Gary, you’ve revealed a “WORLD OF IGNORANCE”
within your “emotionalized” statements. When you acquire the ability to write beyond a third grade level of communication, then I’d recommend trying another attempt !

Gary2

I have to write at that level so folks on the right can understand me.

Bob Marshall

both parties and the Obama administration have strayed so far from the type of government and country our founders envisioned i am not sure we can ever return to a Constitution type of government. When 70 members of congress vote to abolish our present Constitution we have a problem.When Bush Jr. called the Constitution just a G_d D__m piece of paper, there was no outcry from the public.Obama said it was out of date and didn’t apply in todays time.The Obama administration, Obama and some members of congress want a living Constitution so it will mean what ever they want it to mean.Our founders included provisions for amendments to the Constitution.Obama has ignored the the Constitution 16 times so far.Three White House advisors and officials including Obamas’ regulatory czar Cass Sunstein have ties to an effort funded by George Soros to push for a new progressive U.S. Constitution.Attorney General Eric Holder sat on the board of a George Soros funded group pushing for a new progressive Constitution.Once the Constitution was the surpeme law of the land. Today the Supreme Court decides what is the land of the land.in 1962 the Supreme Court ruled that prayer was to outlawed in our public schools and in 1963 its made the decision to ban Bible reading, religious classes and any type of religious instruction. Today they are in the process of permitting homosexuality to be taught in schools to our children. Abraham Lincoln said, “We the people are the rightful masters of both congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.For me,this says it all. The Constitution, as written is nothing if not a document designed to maximize liberty and prevent tyranny by limiting the unrestrained powers of government.

http://lastdayrapture.blogspot.com/ TK

+1 Bob!
It is an absolute shame how many people I meet that do not understand that the government is supposed to protect our liberty, not infringe upon it.

Gay Veteran

Both parties are tools for the elites that rule this country. And that is why the Constitution is being shredded.

“…Today the Supreme Court decides what is the land of the land….”

That’s been the case since Justice Marshall in the early 1800s.

“…in 1962 the Supreme Court ruled that prayer was to outlawed in our public schools and in 1963 its made the decision to ban Bible reading, religious classes and any type of religious instruction….”

There will always be prayer in school as long as there are algebra tests. The Supreme Court outlawed state-sponsored prayer. Is your religion so weak you need the state to impose it on kids?

“…Today they are in the process of permitting homosexuality to be taught in schools to our children….”

Not quite sure what you mean. Some schools teach that great accomplishments are not limited to white heterosexual men. And sex education should include both heterosexuality and homosexuality.

shypuffadder

As long as we let them make and break the rules… they will. We are merely standing on the sidelines watching the horrific crash in slow motion as the spattered blood dries on our faces. Maybe we will get a great idea – beg for a wet wipe.

Kevin

The old USSR had elections that everyone knew were predetermined. They we’re very crude in their policies. The US on the other hand has decades upon decades of slight of hand business training and can therefore get pretty much the same results while maintaining the illusion of a “Free Election”.

Actually one should be concerned when the word “Free” is used. “Free” Trade, fighting for your “Freedom”, “Free” Election and the like on examination has little if anything to do with “Free” as we understand it.

Gary2

Lets not forget that Democrats feed from the same corporate bowl and their actions speak accordingly.

As I stated in other posts the power elite are omnipotent.

Gary2

Kevin-I understand your point and we do need to be rid of the 2 party system. In the mean time any way you slice it the dems are way better than the repubes (I know that is not a high bar to get over).

At least the dems are not as anti poor as the repubes who ONLY care about the rich. Yes the dems mainly care about the rich also but not to the point the repubes do.

Dutch

Gary, there is such a preponderance of facts that destroy your idiotic statement that I won’t even get drawn into your whirlpool of stupid and attempt to have a debate with you. Your embarrassment of a post makes more of a fool of you then I ever could to anyone with an IQ higher than their age.

Before the Communist experiment we call the Great Society black literacy rates, marriage rates, employment rates, graduation rates and incarceration rates were polar opposites of what they are today. These are just a small sampling of true and verifiable facts that you are profoundly yet proudly ignorant to.

Your factless and irrational posts are the best argument against themselves. Please keep them coming….

Guido

Good job, man. Just look at the racist things LBJ had to say. The man knew he was offering something as addictive as crack and as destructive as meth to the Black community. All he cared about was getting them to vote for him. His quotes at the time are appalling.

alan laney

The GOP needs to be busted up. They’re corrupt to the hilt. Look at the obvious biases against Ron Paul. He scares them to death because he’ll tear up their little rubber check book. I’d like to see AmericaElects catch on….if they pull a fast one on Ron Paul, I say we start throwing money to AmericaElects efforts. At least that’s a level playing field. They’re breaking down the barriers to getting on the ballot in States.

mondobeyondo

Can’t wait for the entire show to end. How many months until the election, 11?

For the next 11 months, primaries, elections, debates, conventions… I’m already getting tired of it, and it’s not even 2012 yet.

hondo

Everything is in God’s Almighty hand.
These despicable loathsome devils will spend eternity in hell…….that should soothe a troubled mind!

Ken

The primaries and caucuses/circuses are rigged carnival games. When the 2008 NH Republican Primary results were being reported on WMUR TV in the hours after the polls closed, it was clear that the results in each precinct had been pre-set to result in a certain ordering of the candidates. As for the other half of the corporatist bankster beast, does anyone really believe the happy statistical miracle of the town of Unity giving equal vote counts to Obama and Clinton?

bob-bob-bob

Lets look at the other side of this story . Many times in state primarys democrats will switch partys and vote for a weaker candidate then switch back and vote in the general election. I do think that a brokered election is a good one. So what if a someone is selected who did not run. The idea is to win the whitehouse not to give it away. Lets have a block on every ballot that says ” None of the above” and lets see how many times its marked . Then we can see what everyone really thinks of those who are running.

knightowl77

I do like a “None of the Above” choice…though someone might change their name to None of the Above and be declared the winner…..

knightowl77

I am still hoping for a post from you without a BUSH in it….those days are gone, get over it and deal with today

Cinderella Man

No, we know what this is. The bastards are going to take it from Ron Paul. The RINO establishment is terrified of this man becoming president, beacuse he will put alot of their asses in jail where they belong. Gary2 you wouldnt know freedom if it smacked you in the face. Ron Paul is for freedom, and that means you are free to fail. Nobody owes you a damn thing, We are all so sick of your complaining. You will be saying TAX THE RICH, TAX THE RICH all the way to the FEMA camp, buddy. When will you realize that your Uncle Barry dosent give a shit about you or any poor people, you are all just his pawns! Maybe you will get a raise at your work when you stop typing on your computer, and start WORKING! Damn Ive been wanting to say that for a while! Now back to this Michelle (warwhore) Bachmann is trying to claim she is in a statistical deadheat with Ronny Boy. She is so full of shit its not funny! I love seeing these Neo-con trash trying to dig any dirt up on RP but they cant! If they steal this from him, the protest in Moscow wont have nothing on us! You want to see some real Occupy action wait till the weather gets better, because the unrest in this country isnt over by a damn sight! Oh and Gary2 I probably make less than you do so I think you should be taxed more so I can buy a new TV like you will when your Earned Income Credit comes in the spring! LOl peace. ;)

Gary2

I can not support selfishness which is the libertarian way. I will not just let people die as ron pauls audience did. They are also finding he is a racist and when confronted with the evidence he walks out on the interview.

Also anyone who names their kid Rand, after the despicable ayn rand, is automatically disqualified to be anything above janitor.

Dutch

It’s almost like you read my post before I posted it and obliged in kind.

“Rand” is short for Randall. That’s all. This can be verified from only about a million sources, including Ron and Rand Paul themselves who have explained this publicly on no less than a dozen occasions. You can find several videos on YouTube.

PLEASE give us more…

Diamlake

You have obviously not done your research…hope you get around to it before you vote…Don’t be like Congress and the Senate and not even read the Bills before you vote Yes or No

Cinderella Man

Youre right Reed Richards, Its always been “my side can spend better than your side.” Its never about reform with either of these two bastard parties. Its always more war, more taxes, less freedom. I hope that we dont meet in a FEMA camp my friend, but I get bottom bunk!

Kyle

This election year is going to be historic. It’s 2012, to boot.

Honestly, to fix America isn’t that hard. Some people are forming militias now, and it will absolutely come to total war against the federal government, CIA, Federal Reserve(which isn’t federal and has no reserves), and the financial empire/NWO spawned by the elite.

It’s still just going to be a war against paper, though. That’s all the government is. 10,000 federal laws and 70,000 pages of IRS tax code. The myth of low taxes is gone, way over half everything you earn goes to them invisibly. If taxes didn’t exist, most Americans could work 3 day weeks and live comfortably. The law is full of pitfalls and loopholes and it’s going to change, hell or high water.

70,000 Americans died, and each one took dozens of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians with them, and the whole premise of the Vietnam War was the Gulf of Tonkin, a proven hoax. Millions and millions were made using insider trading during 9/11. Every war in the last century is based on a lie and every investigation and attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice has been thwarted by the Globalists Bankers pulling the strings.

Americans are waking up from the nightmare and they are beginning to become very angry. That’s not good considering how many former military are forming secret societies of their own.

If this election year fails the publics interest, it’s going to be pitiful watching the bankrupt farce try to keep control.

Rex

William, You are absolutely right. Our election process has been co-opted and undermined for decades. This article says nothing new.

Rex

The American people have not selected their own presidential candidates for decades. The internationalists stack the candidate deck with their own lackeys in both parties and ensure that one of their boys gets the nomination on both sides. That way, no matter which party wins, they win and we continue the inexorable march toward a one-world socialist government. The entire process boils down to Ron Paul against all the others. If you want the status quo, vote for anyone; it matter not for whom or for which party. If you want to get back to the Constitution the way the Founders meant, then Ron Paul is ONLY choice.

Edward

Gary2, you are truly an idiot. What use is a safety net if the trapeze, along with the whole circus is pulling up stakes and leaving town? You only need a safety net if there is somewhere to fall from…..

Change your mindset and help get Ron Paul elected so the good doctor can help heal this diseased nation before it croaks. And for your information, I am currently homeless and without work in Phoenix, AZ. So don’t cry to me about the poor. You have no idea what poor is. God bless you, and may he touch your heart with a bit more open mindedness.

Gary2

I could support a ralph nader/ron paul ticket.

Joe

Looks bad for freedom. If they do ripp us off Moltov is a great cocktail For getting over it!

Ephraiyim

Has anybody considered that if enough RP delegates end up at the National and they are released after the first ballot they could pull the other delegates toward Paul. This whole strategy could backfire on the establishment. They are taking a risk that they can remain in control of the floor after releasing delegates. Personally I hope it becomes a cluster ….!and Paul steal the whole shabang away from the pigs who run the RNC it would serve them right for these kind of tactics that are so blatantly obviously aimed at Ron Paul’s campaign. Fear baby…works every time. We got em on the run.
It’s all but over whether Paul wins or not the RNC has lost all credibility and is dead.

Diamlake

If Ron Paul runs third party, it may very well be the SECOND time the third party gains the President’s office. It has been done before…most voters recognize Bush’s policies and the never ending votes against the American people in this administration…the exodus of Ron Paul from the Republican party frees us away from the two party dictatorship..that’s what is possible?

Gifted_Idiot

There will be no real election. Dont you see that this was decided long ago? They (both “parties” know that we are pissed at them and at how they have been running our government for decades. Thats why they are putting all of these new laws into effect now. They know that there is going to be an uprising when Obey-me wins again in 2012…… notice i said when, not if. Look, you and I go to work all day and marginally think about wwhats going on there and all the while think that we can change things with our vote…. Meanwhile these people are doing their jobs too.. they have all day to think about how to retain the status quo and write laws and other maneuvers to insure that they stay in power. Dont think for one second that they will let an “”outsider” like Ron Paul take the white house. Before that happens, he would be the unfortunate victim of some tragic accident…. Believe it… they will.stop at nothing to ensure that they continue on this road to a world government.

Dsmith

Just remember Goldman Sachs is backing BOTH Obama AND Romney – hedging their bet.

I’m voting Ron Paul; Write-in if I have to.

Caroline Corman

I am not for the winner take all. The early states are king makers and this is not the way to elect a candidate. There are flaws on both sides
of the process. But I hope Ron Paul is the victor.

http://twitter.com/#!/lsutex LSUTEX

If neocons force a brokered convention, here’s what should happen… Paul should approach them and tell threaten to run as a third party candidate unless they pick him. They can choose between a sure loss or Paul as the nominee. It’s time to play hard ball folks. If they call his bluff, who cares if Obama really wins. These big gov’t RINO’s are no better than POTUS anyway.

Damon

Guys! Do NOT get discouraged! Ron Paul is actually doing very well…he has thus far, outmaneuvered the insiders. Thanks to his emphasis on getting his people as delegates, Paul now has a majority of Iowa delegates, regardless what the poll numbers were! The Iowa Caucus is a non-binding straw poll…the delegates are free to vote how they wish. Paul took advantage of this, and now, though the “official” numbers don’t reflect it, he is ahead! He has also doubled his support in New Hampshire the last couple of days…he is the ONLY other person on the ballot in Virginia. And since state wins don’t matter until the ones after April, Paul has an awesome chance to win this time around. We can get him the win down here in Texas, and I think he has a good chance in California. That, with well placed delegates in a brokered convention, would mean a win for Ron Paul. Ron Paul 2012!

Leon

“The goal would be to cause a brokered convention which would enable the Republican establishment to hand pick whatever candidate that they want.”

I fail to see the connection between a brokered convention and the RP establishment picking the nominee. On the contrary, brokered conventions have in the past more often been quite raucous melees.

A more pertinant question might be what happens to a candidate’s pledged delegates after if he drops out of the race.

A. Hick

This article is interesting fantasy, but nothing more. Mitt Romney will win the nomination outright, and he is the establishment choice. The trick is keeping the hick vote split up so Romney gets the biggest share of the overall vote. In the end he will have the largest share of delegates. It MAY take longer, but it will happen that way. The establishment will use PACs to strategically fund the non-Romneys and allow them to stay in the race long enough.

This is the reason the rules were changed this time, out of a fear that it would be Romney that got knocked out early under the old rules, and the establishment (which is really the Bush family, and since Romney is the choice this time, also the Wall Street speculator class in general) is very much still in control of the process.

Romney is not a blue blood capable of playing a fake hick like W. Bush, and he is not likely to impress the reactionary hicks who now are essential to winning GOP elections in the fall, and who now have a strategic influence in primary contests.

So what you do is let the holy roller vote go to waste on two or three crazies while Mitt wins the 40 percent or so that would vote for a country clubber anyway.

It is all very easy to pull off. The hard part will be to motivate the hicks to show up in the fall to vote for Wall Street Willard. The way that will work is the blue bloods will just panic bait these hicks over what a cultural disaster a second term for the “Anti-Christ” Muslim, socialist Obama, etc. would have for “middle (meaning “white redneck”) America, while Romney plays like a Bush and stays far awsy from the rotten meat and runs as a “uniter.”

Too bad Lee Atwater isn’t alive to see this circus.

There is only one thing left to say:

MUTTS FOR MITT!!!!!!

Help hose down PETA, jump on the station wagon, and join Mitt’s “Poop on America 2012″ campaign today!!

Don’t forget to donate generously to the MUTTS FOR MITT fund. All proceeds go to a special Caymans account set up in the name of Seamus and will be used to capitalize a hedge fund speculating in, and for leveraged buyouts of pest control supply producers, dog food, and outdoor sporting goods equipment companies whose production is not yet completely outsourced to China.

Allan S.

The Republicans need need a true genius of a woman
to fire up Romney, and bolster him on the right, as his pick for V.P. That woman would lead almost equally the the campaign, because she’s smart enough to qualify for the Supreme Court, having clerked there. America’s finest lawyer turned broadcaster, is Laura Ingerham. She is beautiful in her own special way, gutsy, with the virtual cajones of an American Margret Thatcher. Just as Joan d’Arc stirred up France to victory against England, she can inspire Romney to possible greatness by her feminine gravitas. We must, somehow convince Laura to step into the the Romney camp as his spark plug. Just as Robert the Bruce needed “Brave Heart” Mitt needs his own American
“Iron Lady” in the crusade to derail Obama’s plans! Anybody who agrees….PASS IT ON IN THE BLOGS! She is the conservative equal of Hilary,
and a hundred degrees hotter as a charisma BABE!
(please post this revision, instead of the original. Allan S.

Lakawak

New rules allow the Republicans to give the nomination to the one that over half hte voters chose rather than a loser who had less than 15% of the popular vote!

Wayne Middleton

Need a web site where I can read a copy of the recently adopted 2012 RNC Rules, please.

Andrew Patton

I disagree. Since the Republican establishment does not control the delegates themselves, shooting for a brokered convention is actually an advantage for the insurgents.